Pressure-ball sliding doorstop

ABSTRACT

A doorstop that includes a retainer piece disposed on one of a door and a door support, the retainer piece including a plastic housing with a main opening and a guide opening arranged perpendicular to the main opening and parallel to a pivot axis of the door. The doorstop also includes a door retaining rod articulated on the other of the door and the door support. The door retaining rod passes through the main opening of the retainer piece housing and includes a brake ramp and a catch depression on a side of the door retaining rod. The doorstop also includes a catch device configured to determine specific door opening positions. The catch device includes a brake body and a spring. The catch device connects the retainer piece and the door retaining rod to each other in a moveable manner. The brake body includes a hollow cylinder having a semi-spherical closed end and an open end and is slidingly disposed in the guide opening of the retainer piece. The open end accommodates the spring so that the closed end is pre-tensioned by the spring relative to the brake ramp and catch depression and is guided in the guide opening free of tilt.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to generally to a doorstop, andparticularly to a door stop for a motor vehicle.

Such doorstops are known in the state of the art, having pivotallymounted brake and/or stop bodies in the form of catch rollers,roller-shaped elements or balls, for example. Thus the publication EP 0643 185 A1 discloses a doorstop having a catch roller as brake and/orstop body and a ball as abutment on the other side. EP 0 816 612 A1describes a doorstop having axially supported races as brake and/or stopbodies. DE 43 25 555 A describes such a doorstop having a brake and/orstop body in the form of a roller. All doorstops have separate bearingand/or retaining elements for the rolling brake and/or stop bodies. Suchdoorstops are also known, in which the brake and/or stop bodies aredesigned not as rolling components but as sliding bodies, which areguided in the housing by means of a separate guide piece.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The need to provide separate bearing and/or retaining elements and theneed for guide pieces extends the chains of tolerances of theinteracting functional parts and increases the overall dimensions of thedoorstops. The construction and function moreover becomes complex andexpensive.

An underlying technical object of the present invention is to design adoorstop of the type described above having small overall dimensions andweight and capable of flexibly absorbing high fixing forces and stopmoments within tight dimensional tolerances with the least possiblecontact pressure per unit area between door retaining rod and brakebodies (also referred to as stop bodies).

The present invention provides a doorstop that includes a retainer piecedisposed on one of a door and a door support. The retainer pieceincludes a plastic housing with a main opening and a guide openingarranged perpendicular to the main opening and parallel to a pivot axisof the door. The doorstop also includes a door retaining rod articulatedon the other of the door and the door support. The door retaining rodpasses through the main opening of the retainer piece housing andincluding a brake ramp and a catch depression on a side of the doorretaining rod. The doorstop also includes a catch device configured todetermine specific door opening positions. The catch device connects theretainer piece and the door retaining rod to each other in a moveablemanner and includes a brake body and a spring. The brake body includes ahollow cylinder having a semi-spherical closed end and an open end andis slidingly disposed in the guide opening of the retainer piece. Theopen end accommodates the spring so that the closed end is pre-tensionedby the spring relative to the brake ramp and catch depression and isguided in the guide opening free of tilt.

The doorstop according to the invention is light and compact andflexibly absorbs high stop moments within small tolerances andadvantageously allows the door retaining rod to swivel out perpendicularto its clamping direction due to the brake and/or stop bodies acting inopposition, without tilting the point of contact in the process. Thecylindrical part of the brake and/or stop body, in which the spring isaccommodated, has a length which advantageously permits guiding withouttilting.

In one embodiment having a truncated dome head, the point of contactbetween brake and/or stop body and door retaining rod is advantageouslyenlarged in such a way that it consists not just of a point or, in thecase of a groove with complementary profile, not just of a contact line,but of a contact area. By enlarging the bearing surface, the contactpressure per unit area is correspondingly reduced for the same stopforces, so that the brake and/or stop bodies may advantageously be madeof plastic.

If the pressure spring in opposition to the metal frame is supported onthe end face of the housing, the relaxation occurring in the case ofplastic and hence any resulting play between the functional elements isthereby advantageously avoided.

One embodiment in which the door retaining rod has a plastic-coveredmetal core allows high stop forces to be absorbed and advantageouslyavoids the generation of loud noise. Forming the brake ramps and thecatch depressions through or between local thickenings of the plasticcovering on the metal core represents a simple way of arranging them onthe sides of the door retaining rod facing the pivot axis.

The arrangement of a continuous longitudinal groove with a complementaryprofile to the cap through brake ramps and catch depressions forms aprecise lateral guide for the brake and/or stop bodies over the entirelength, without increasing the contact pressure per unit area.

The integral design of an abutment or limit stop on the door retainingrod corresponding to the open position of the door advantageouslypermits a precise construction, in which additional tolerancedcomponents can be dispensed with. Swiveling the door and the resultinglongitudinal displacement of the door retaining rod in relation to thehousing of the retainer piece lead to a swivel movement of the doorretaining rod about its pivot axis. An embodiment, in which the walls ofthe opening arranged perpendicular to the guide openings have archesover the width of the opening, which guide the door retaining rodlaterally and the convexly rounded dome heads of which are arranged on alevel with the center axis of the guide openings and align with theirinner wall, advantageously allows the door retaining rod to swivel out.

An embodiment in which the bearing eye is extended by forming the metalcore parallel to the pivot axis advantageously allows very high stopforces to be absorbed. If the opening is dimensioned so that the doorretaining rod can be introduced with its end having the bearing eyeforemost, this advantageously means that the door retaining rod can havean integral abutment at the other end without this impeding assembly.

Designing the closing cap of the brake and/or stop body withapproximately equal wall thicknesses advantageously allows the brakeand/or stop bodies to be efficiently manufactured from plastic by theinjection molding process whilst ensuring high strength and stability.Designing the outer surface of the cylindrical part of the brake and/orstop bodies with channels running in the direction of movement permits afavorable distribution of slide lubricants and reduction of the contactsurface and hence the frictional resistance between brake and/or stopbody and inner surface of the guide opening, without adversely affectingthe precise and tilt-free guiding of the brake and/or stop bodies in thecylindrical guide opening.

The provision of underside fixing apertures in the metal frames forfixing the doorstop to a door assembly piece advantageously permits analternative design with internal thread or with press-in screwsaffording a highly flexible variation of the hole piercing.

The integral arrangement of cushions of elastic material on the upperend surface of the housing reduces the overall dimensions and allows thedoorstop to be designed using fewer parts.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The aforementioned and other advantages of the invention will beexplained in the description of exemplary embodiments, which arerepresented in the drawing attached, in which:

FIG. 1 shows the doorstop in a sectional side view parallel to the pivotaxis with door retaining rod passing through the retainer piece;

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of the doorstop in a side view perpendicular tothe plane of FIG. 1 and

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the door retaining rod.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a sectional side view of a doorstop according to theinvention, the plane of section running through the doorstop parallel tothe pivot axis and the door retaining rod 1 passing though the retainingpiece 2. At its bottom end in the figure, the door retaining rod 1 has abearing eye 6 and at the other end an abutment 9. The door retaining rod1 is constructed from a metal core 7, for example a flat steel section,which is covered with plastic. The plastic covering 8 is applied withdifferent thicknesses over the length and forms bulges in the form oflocal thickenings, which form the brake ramps 4 and the catchdepressions 5 between the bulges. In the exemplary embodiment shown, theabutment 9, which forms the limit stop corresponding to the openposition of the door, is of integral T-shaped design. The abutment 9 orthe limit stop may also be alternatively formed by a pin, which isarranged through a corresponding opening in the door retaining rod 1 inthe direction of the pivot axis. The brake ramps 4 and the catchdepressions 5 are formed on the sides of the door retaining rod facingthe pivot axis. In the position shown the brake and/or stop bodies 3bear bilaterally preloaded against catch depressions. The door retainingrod 1 is led through the opening 13 in the housing 10. The brake and/orstop bodies 3 are guided in guide openings 25 arranged perpendicular tothe opening 13.

The brake and/or stop bodies 3 take the form of hollow cylinders, whichare sealed at one end by a semi-spherical cap 14. In their open end theyaccommodate a pressure spring 12 resting on the closing cap 14, thespring being supported on a side wall of the housing 10. The end facesof the housing 10 are enclosed by U-shaped metal frames 11, which alsoconstitute the supporting wall for the pressure springs. The brakeand/or stop bodies 3 have a central bore 16 accessible from theircylindrical cavity 15 and further bores 17 arranged in a circle aroundthis. The shape and arrangement of the bores 16 and 17 permitapproximately equal wall thicknesses in the semi-spherical cap 14. Thesemi-spherical cap 14 is truncated at its front end. The approximatelyequal wall thicknesses provide an advantageous prerequisite formanufacturing the brake and/or stop bodies from plastic by the injectionmolding process. In its cylindrical part 19 the outer wall of the brakeand/or stop bodies 3 is fluted in the direction of movement, thereby onthe one hand ensuring a favorable distribution and transmission of slidelubricants and on the other reducing the bearing surface of thecylindrical part 19 on the inner surface of the guide opening 25 andhence frictional forces occurring when the brake and/or stop bodies 3slide in the guide opening 25.

Cushions 22 of an elastic material are integrated into the upper endsurface 20 of the housing 10, against which cushions the abutment 9resiliently strikes when the door is in the open position. Fixingapertures 21 are arranged in the bottom end surfaces of the metal frames11. In the exemplary embodiment shown these have an internal thread forfixing the retainer piece to a door assembly piece by means of threadedscrews. Press-on screws, not shown here, can also be used for fixing,however. It will be obvious that in the embodiment of the housing 10 andmetal frame 11 shown there is a high degree of flexibility in the choiceof hole spacing and hence in the hole piercing variants.

FIG. 2 shows a doorstop having a door retaining rod 1 that differs fromthe exemplary embodiment in FIG. 1, the plane of the figure beingperpendicular to that in FIG. 1. The door retaining rod 1 passes throughthe housing 10 and is inserted through the opening 13 in the housing 10.At the same time it is laterally guided by the arches 18 on theirconvexly rounded dome heads. The shape and dimensions of the opening 13allow the door retaining rod to swivel perpendicular to the pivot axis.A central swivel position of the door retaining rod 1 is represented byunbroken lines, while the dashed lines on either side thereof representthe extreme swivel positions of the door retaining rod 1 to both sides.In this embodiment the swivel range is designed to be approximately±12.50°, that is a total of approximately 25°.

In this representation the stop cushions 22 can be seen integrated intothe upper end surface 20 of the housing 10. The circle indicated at thepoint of intersection of the three centerlines of the door retainingrods 1 corresponds approximately to the bearing surface of the truncatedcaps of the brake and/or stop bodies 3 on the sides of the doorretaining rod 1 having the brake ramps 4 and catch depressions 5. Sincethey are situated on a level with the opposing dome heads of the arches18, this point of intersection also represents the swivel axis of thedoor retaining rod 1 for its swivel movements perpendicular to the pivotaxis.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a door retaining rod 1. The bearingeye 6, with which the door retaining rod 1 is pivoted on a door assemblypiece, is arranged at the bottom end of the rod as shown in the figure.The abutment 9, which is here integrally formed by right-angleddeflection of the two lateral halves 23 of the centrally divided metalcore 7, is shown at the other end of the door retaining rod 1. A guidegroove 24, the profile of which is designed to complement the apex ofthe truncated semi-spherical closing cap 14 of the brake and/or stopbody 3, runs in the longitudinal direction of the door retaining rod 1over the catch depressions 5 and the brake ramps 4.

1. A doorstop, comprising: a retainer piece disposed on one of a doorand a door support and including a plastic housing with a main openingand a guide opening arranged perpendicular to the main opening andparallel to a pivot axis of the door; a door retaining rod articulatedon the other of the door and the door support, the door retaining rodpassing through the main opening of the retainer piece housing andincluding a brake ramp and a catch depression on a side of the doorretaining rod; and a catch device configured to determine specific dooropening positions and including a brake body and a spring, the catchdevice connecting the retainer piece and the door retaining rod to eachother in a moveable manner, wherein the brake body includes a hollowcylinder having a semi-spherical closed end and an open end and isslidingly disposed in the guide opening of the retainer piece, the openend partially accommodating the spring therein so that the closed end ispre-tensioned by the spring relative to the brake ramp and catchdepression and is guided in the guide opening free of tilt.
 2. Thedoorstop as recited in claim 1, characterized in that the semi-sphericalclosed end of the brake body projects into the main opening and bearsagainst the side of the door retaining rod having the brake ramp andcatch depressions.
 3. The doorstop as recited in claim 1, wherein thesemi-spherical closed end of the brake body is a cap.
 4. The doorstop asrecited in claim 1 wherein the brake body includes plastic and thesemi-spherical closed end of the brake body is truncated.
 5. Thedoorstop as recited in claim 1 wherein the main opening has wallsarranged perpendicular to an intersection to the guide opening, thewalls including arches having convexly rounded dome heads arranged on alevel with the guide opening for laterally guiding the door retainingrod perpendicular to the side having the catch depression.
 6. Thedoorstop as recited in claim 1 wherein an outer surface of a cylindricalportion of the brake body is fluted in the direction of movement.
 7. Thedoorstop as recited in claim 1, wherein a profile of the main opening isshaped to enable the door retaining rod to swivel by at least plus/minus12.5° about an axis that that is perpendicular to the pivot axis andintersects an axis of the cylindrical brake body.
 8. The doorstop asrecited in claim 1, wherein the door is a motor vehicle door.
 9. Thedoorstop as recited in claim 1 wherein the retainer piece furtherincludes a second guide opening arranged perpendicular to the mainopening and parallel to the pivot axis, and wherein the catch devicefurther includes a second spring and a second brake body slidinglydisposed in the second guide opening.
 10. The doorstop as recited inclaim 9, wherein the door retaining rod includes a second brake ramp anda second catch depression on a second side of the door retaining rod.11. The doorstop as recited in claim 1, further comprising a U-shapedmetal frame enclosing an end of the housing.
 12. The doorstop as recitedin claim 11 wherein the spring is supported against the metal frame. 13.The doorstop as recited in claim 11, further comprising a fixingaperture disposed in an underside of the metal frame.
 14. The doorstopas recited in claim 11, further comprising upwardly projecting cushionsof elastic material disposed integrally in an upper end surface of thehousing between an end of the metal frame and the main opening.
 15. Thedoorstop as recited in claim 1 wherein the door retaining rod includes ametal core covered with plastic and a bearing eye serving as a pivot atone end and an abutment serving as a limit stop at the other end, thelimit stop defining an open position of the door.
 16. The doorstop asrecited in claim 15, wherein the brake ramp and the catch depression arearranged on the side of the door retaining rod facing the pivot axis andare formed by or between bulges of the plastic covering.
 17. Thedoorstop as recited in claim 15, wherein the door retaining rod has agroove in the side having the brake ramp and catch depression, thegroove running continuously in a longitudinal direction between thebearing eye and the abutment, a profile of the groove complementing theclosed end of the brake body.
 18. The doorstop as recited in claim 15,wherein the abutment is integrally formed with the door retaining rod.19. The doorstop as recited in claim 15, wherein the metal core iscentrally divided into two sides, and the abutment is formed by ends ofthe two sides bent at right-angles in opposite directions from oneanother.
 20. The doorstop as recited in claim 15 wherein the bearing eyerun parallel to the pivot axis and is raised relative to a surface ofthe door retaining rod by a forming out of a section of the metal coreparallel to the pivot axis.
 21. The doorstop as recited in claim 15wherein the main opening is dimensioned so that the door retaining rodcan be introduced with the end having the bearing eye foremost.
 22. Adoorstop, comprising: a retainer piece disposed on one of a door and adoor support and including a plastic housing with a main opening and aguide opening arranged perpendicular to the main opening and parallel toa pivot axis of the door; a door retaining rod articulated on the otherof the door and the door support, the door retaining rod passing throughthe main opening of the retainer piece housing and including a brakeramp and a catch depression on a side of the door retaining rod; and acatch device configured to determine specific door opening positions andincluding a brake body and a spring, the catch device connecting theretainer piece and the door retaining rod to each other in a moveablemanner, wherein the brake body includes a hollow cylinder having asemi-spherical closed end and an open end and is slidingly disposed inthe guide opening of the retainer piece, the open end accommodating thespring so that the closed end is pre-tensioned by the spring relative tothe brake ramp and catch depression and is guided in the guide openingfree of tilt, wherein the closed end of the brake body includes acentral bore accessible from a cylindrical cavity inside the brake bodyand includes further bores arranged in a circle around the central bore.23. A doorstop, comprising: a door retaining rod pivotably articulatedon one of a door and a door support, said door retaining rod having acourse comprising at least one of a brake ramp and a catch depression ona first side of said door retaining rod; a retainer housing disposed onthe other of said door and said door support and including a mainopening for receiving said door retaining rod and a first guide opening;and a first catch device disposed in said retainer housing andconfigured to resiliently engage said first side of said door retainingrod, said first catch device including a first spring and a first brakebody, wherein said first brake body is slidingly disposed in said firstguide opening and includes a hollow cylinder having a closed end and anopen end, wherein said first spring urges said closed end towards saidfirst side of said door retaining rod, and wherein said first spring isaccommodated at least partially within said open end.
 24. The doorstopas recited in claim 23, wherein said retainer housing is an injectionmolded plastic part.
 25. The doorstop as recited in claim 23, whereinsaid first guide opening is arranged in said retainer housingsubstantially perpendicular to said door retaining rod, and wherein saidfirst brake body is guided in said first guide opening free of tilt suchthat said first spring is compressed according to said course of saiddoor retaining rod displacing said first brake body in said guideopening.
 26. The doorstop as recited in claim 23 wherein said closed endis a cap having a truncated, semi spherical shape.
 27. The doorstop asrecited in claim 23, wherein said closed end includes, on a side facingaway from said door retaining rod, internal walls defining a centralbore and a plurality of further bores arranged in a circle around saidcentral bore, wherein a diameter of said central bore is larger than adiameter of any of said further bores.
 28. The doorstop as recited inclaim 23, wherein said retainer housing comprises a second guide openingreceiving a second catch device for engaging a second side of said doorretaining rod, and wherein said first catch device and said second catchdevice protrude from said retainer housing in such a manner that saiddoor retaining rod is kept at a distance from circumscribing edges ofsaid main opening.
 29. The doorstop as recited in claim 23, wherein saidfirst side of said door retaining rod includes a guide groove centrallyrunning along said door retaining rod, said guide groove being delimitedby protruding lateral flanges.
 30. The doorstop as recited in claim 29,wherein said guide groove has a profile perpendicular to said course andcomplimentary to said closed end.